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#surron — Public Fediverse posts

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  1. SWANSEA: Boys of 14 among seven arrested as police pull six bikes off the streets

    Police have released dramatic footage of their crackdown on anti-social and dangerous driving in Swansea — targeting motorbikes, e-bikes and car drivers.

    Boys as young as 14 are among seven people arrested as police stripped six illegal bikes off the city’s streets.

    The crackdown threw everything at the problem, from drones overhead to armed officers on the ground.

    One dramatic car chase featured showed police pursuing a car tearing through streets in Mount Pleasant, Brynmill and the city centre at speeds hitting almost 60mph — all in a 20mph zone.

    The fleeing car squeezes past parked vehicles on Harcourt Street in Mount Pleasant, near the Londis on the Norfolk Street junction. Image: South Wales Police

    The driver, James Holt, 45, from Gowerton, was already on the radar of a knife crime operation when he refused to stop for police. He has since admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and uninsured, and drink driving.

    In a separate incident in Gorseinon, officers chased down a bike running on false plates — and the two riders arrested turned out to be boys of 14.

    Two riders, no helmets: the scooter filmed on a residential street before the arrests. Image: South Wales Police

    Two 17-year-olds, from Bonymaen and Plasmarl, were arrested after a motorbike was snatched in the city centre. Police got the stolen bike back, and footage of the arrests shows officers recovering a Sur-Ron electric bike in an underpass.

    A suspect is led away in handcuffs in the underpass. Image: South Wales Police

    In Pontarddulais, two unregistered bikes ignored orders to stop from armed officers. A stinger ended the argument, and both were seized.

    One suspect tries to scramble over a bridge wall to get away. Image: South Wales Police

    South Wales Police have also charged 36-year-old Matthew Davies, from Maesteg, with driving while disqualified and using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance.

    Temporary Chief Inspector Andrew Hedley said the arrests demonstrated “the impact of our ongoing targeted work to tackle illegal and anti-social use of vehicles across Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.”

    He said that the police were using specialist teams to identify offenders, “disrupting criminal activity and taking dangerous vehicles off our roads”.

    He added that the force would keep acting on tip-offs from residents. “We will continue to act on information from our communities and take robust action against those who put others at risk,” he said.

    The arrests are the latest scalps for Operation Akalat, the force’s rolling campaign against illegal bikes, stolen vehicles and the drug dealing that often travels with them.

    Its biggest single haul came in April, when a police plane circling above Swansea guided officers to sixteen bikes in one day: eight in Penlan, three in the city centre, three in Townhill and two in Morriston. Several turned out to be stolen.

    The same plane caught an extra target that evening. Callum Payne, 18, of Port Tennant, was tracked from 1,500ft as he sped a Sur-Ron over the SA1 pedestrian footbridge, weaving past drinkers and traffic. Officers found him inside a nearby house; he is now banned from the roads for two years and doing 200 hours of unpaid work.

    Gorseinon’s riders have been playing hide and seek with police for months. Officers previously found five motorcycles stashed in woodland near the town, believed to be the machines behind a long run of complaints.

    The Sur-Rons turning up again and again in these seizures are not toys. In law they are motor vehicles, needing registration, insurance and a licence to ride on a road or public path — unlike pedal-assist e-bikes, which are capped at 15.5mph.

    And the bikes police take may never come back. Under powers proposed by the UK Government, vehicles used anti-socially could be crushed within 48 hours instead of the current 14 days, with no warning needed before they are taken.

    Police and Crime Commissioner Emma Wools has backed the tougher line, saying such machines are often used to facilitate drug dealing and serious violence.

    Swansea knows the cost when it goes wrong. In 2023, a child was seriously injured and airlifted to Morriston Hospital after being hit by an off-road motorbike yards from a Mayhill primary school.

    South Wales Police say that anyone with information about illegal riding can contact them on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

    Related stories from Swansea Bay News

    SWANSEA: Sixteen bikes seized as police operation targets illegal off-road riders
    A fixed-wing police aircraft guided officers to sixteen bikes in one day in April.

    Police seize five motorcycles linked to anti-social behaviour in Gorseinon
    The machines were found hidden in woodland near the town.

    SWANSEA: Tracked from 1,500ft — Sur-Ron rider banned from the roads
    Callum Payne sped across the SA1 pedestrian footbridge with a police plane overhead.

    Police to crush e-scooters and off-road bikes used anti-socially within 48 hours
    Proposed UK Government powers would slash the current 14-day wait.

    #Bonymaen #Gorseinon #Gowerton #Maesteg #Pontarddulais #SouthWalesPolice #SurRon
  2. SWANSEA: Tracked from 1,500ft — Sur-Ron rider who sped across SA1 footbridge banned from the roads

    An 18-year-old who sped an electric motorbike through Swansea‘s SA1 waterfront — including across a pedestrian footbridge — has been banned from the roads, after a police aeroplane tracked him from above.

    Callum Payne, from Port Tennant, was followed by neighbourhood officers assisted by a fixed-wing police aircraft as he rode the Sur-Ron dangerously through the area on the evening of 24 April.

    Officers arrested him inside a nearby address, South Wales Police said.

    Police aerial footage shows Callum Payne riding a Sur-Ron across a pedestrian footbridge in the SA1 area of Swansea (Image: South Wales Police)

    Footage released by the force shows the rider crossing the footbridge, cutting across busy junctions and weaving past traffic as the aircraft’s camera follows him from around 1,500ft.

    Payne pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle dangerously, using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

    He was handed a community order requiring him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, and was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 24 months.

    The fixed-wing aircraft tracks the Sur-Ron along a path beside a main road (Image: South Wales Police)

    PC Scott Pearson said the teenager had put people in danger as he sped through the district.

    “Callum Payne put others’ safety at risk when he sped his illegal e-bike through the SA1 area, including across a pedestrian footbridge,” he said.

    “He was a danger to both cars and pedestrians, and is clearly unsuitable to be allowed to use the roads. We are pleased to see that he is now banned from doing so for two years.”

    The rider passes drinkers outside a bar as the aircraft’s camera follows overhead (Image: South Wales Police)Payne cuts across a major junction as the plane follows from above (Image: South Wales Police)The aircraft tracks the rider into a back lane shortly before his arrest (Image: South Wales Police)

    Sur-Rons are powerful electric motorbikes capable of speeds well beyond the legal limit for electric bicycles — and in law they are motor vehicles, meaning they cannot be ridden on roads or public paths without registration, insurance and a licence.

    That puts them in a different category from pedal-assist e-bikes, which are limited to 15.5mph and can be ridden without paperwork by anyone aged 14 or over.

    That distinction is widely misunderstood: a survey of 1,000 people by insurance comparison site Tiger.co.uk found 42% did not realise that a bike providing motor assistance above 15.5mph is treated as a motor vehicle, needing insurance, registration and a licence.

    The same June survey found 61% of Britons think e-bikes are too dangerous — though opinion on banning them outright was split almost evenly, 44% for and 50% against.

    The machines have become a regular target for police in Swansea: officers seized 17 e-bikes and made seven arrests during two enforcement days targeting anti-social riding in the city centre last September.

    Forces in south and mid Wales have also seized hundreds of illegal e-scooters in recent years, amid concern over their links to crime and road safety.

    Air support for Welsh forces is provided by the National Police Air Service, whose fixed-wing aircraft can hold a target in view far longer than officers on the ground — as Payne discovered.

    Related stories from Swansea Bay News

    Police seize 17 e-bikes and make seven arrests in Swansea city centre crackdown
    Two enforcement days targeted the anti-social use of electric bikes in the city centre.

    Police seize hundreds of illegal e-scooters across South and Mid Wales
    Concerns are mounting over the machines’ links to crime, antisocial behaviour and road safety.

    #dangerousDriving #eBike #illegalEBikes #PortTennant #SA1 #SouthWalesPolice #SurRon #Swansea
  3. I needed a portable battery-powered ESP32 device with RS485 as a data logger for my moped.
    So here we are:

    #surron #RS485 #VehicleHacking

  4. In other news:

    DE:
    Ich hab mal ein bisschen angefangen von meinem E-Moped (Surron Light Bee) Infos zusammenzusammeln und den RS485 Fahrzeugbus ein Stück zu Reverse-Engineeren:

    EN:
    I gathered some information about my E-Moped (Surron Light Bee) and reverse engineered part of the RS485 vehicle bus:

    github.com/patagonaa/surron-li

    #Motorrad #EMotorrad #EV #BEV #SurRon #ReverseEngineering #RS485 #Hacking #VehicleHacking #OpenSource #motorcycle

  5. Riding through #Pokhara I accidentally saw this thing in a showroom and made a spontaneous quick test-ride.
    I was not aware that they sell #surron #motorbikes in #Nepal.
    That thing feels like a lot of (expensive) fun.

    Does anyone have one of them?

    #emobility #motorcycle #offroadelectricbike

  6. youtube.com/watch?v=pa9R-wqp1Z

    Interesting and entertaining comparo by #FortNine of the Sur-Ron Ultra with an eMTB and a 125cc DRZ. While it's too much biek for the road, or the MTB trail, as a lighter offroader, it makes a case for ebikes
    #ebike #Surron #dirtbike #enduro

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